USE OF THE HRGC-HRMS APPROACH IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PCDD, PCDF AND DL-PCB CONTAMINATION IN BUFFALO SOFT CHEESE, IN ITALY

摘要

During 2008, an extraordinary dioxin survey was carried-out in Italy, to prevent the possible unacceptable presence of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds in mozzarella cheese. To reduce the huge number of samples to be investigated, pooled buffalo milk were analysed along to the adoption of guidance limits below the maximum regulatory tolerance levels. An a posteriori evaluation of the HRGC-HRMS results achieved indicate that, when using a bioassay method to screen cumulative dioxins (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs), on 314 pooled samples drawn at processing milk plants level the recorded percentage of suspected non-compliances would be 46.2. The testing of the separate PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs fractions on such bioassay would lead to a percentage of suspected non-compliances of 25.8 for pooled milk. The HRGC-HRMS approach allowed to achieve the following main goals: 1) to avoid a large number of confirmatory analysis, mandatory in the case of a screening approach; 2) to achieve an exhaustive data-set useful for the identification and the evaluation of the possible sources of exposure, and effective for the definition of contamination target levels in buffalo milk.